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Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but when I highlight frames on the timeline and hit delete, I expect them to be deleted. Instead, they are replaced in the same space by a bunch of single blank frames. That is, it converts the existing incidents to single frame images over the same space and leaves them blank. I just want to delete those frames and leave either nothing, or one single blank frame. How can I make TVPaint do this and why would I want a whole bunch of blank singles anyway when I choose to delete?

The trick is not to select a range of frames but just put the cursor on the the instance you want cleared. (To me it's a matter of semantics but TVPaint differentiates between clearing a frame and deleting one. Deleting removes the frame entirely from your timing)

And if you want to clear all the frames (or a selection) on a layer but keep the timing of the instances, there's the buttons in this thread.

You can also try this:

In the menu go to Image->Exposure->remove instance head . You can also assign this to a keyboard shortcut.
Just highlight the frames and use "remove instance head"

Ah, "remove instance head". That's great, thanks! I tried that button on the other thread, but it deletes the instance and replaces them with a bunch of single frames, but "remove instance head" doesn't do that, so it's more what I want. Only thing is, how do I make that into a button because that item does not appear to be listed in the button options. I can't understand why every menu item is not listed there.